Page 58 of Keep Her Safe

“Sex in a bathroom?”

“You know what I mean,” I argue because this was more than that.

“Yes, but I shouldn’t have chosen now to say it.”

“Say what?” I smirk. He doesn’t respond; he just kneels in front of me and helps me into my jumpsuit, sliding it up my body, and turns me around to tie it behind my neck. “Damian,” I push.

“Baby, can we talk about it when we get home and you’re more sober?”

“Fine. Let me just touch up my makeup. I’ll be right out.” He nods before pressing a kiss to my forehead. I cross my arms as he reaches for the door. “I feel the same by the way.”

My cock, which is still semi-hard from what just happened in the bathroom including the words Shay had uttered just before I walked out the door, softens dramatically when I see Jeremy standing at the end of the hallway looking down at his phone.This fucking guy, again?

Why is he so pressed on Shay all of a sudden? Has he always been this way and I’m just taking notice? My theory that now that Paxton is out of the picture he might be interested crosses my mind again and it’s already grating on my nerves.

His eyes find mine from down the hall and they narrow, having not seen me standing here previously and it makes me wonder how long he’s been standing here waiting for Shay.

“Hunt?” He walks towards me, holding his drink in one hand and the other casually in his pocket before turning to look back towards the entrance of the hallway. “I am not that drunk. Did you walk by me?” He frowns like he’s confused by how I appeared, not having put two and two together when Shay emerges from the bathroom looking sexy and gorgeous and not like she’d just been fucked in a bathroom. Her makeup is still perfect.I’m grateful she’d forgone lipstick tonight and settled for a tinted lip gloss that tasted like cake mixed with liquor,and thankfully, I hadn’t pulled on her hair, so it’s still sleek and shiny.

“Jeremy?” Her eyes widen and then she looks up at me and then back at him and I yield to her not knowing how she wants to play it.

He looks at Shay and then at me and then the bathroom door behind us and it’s as if a light bulb goes off and he chuckles. “Really?”

“Why are you even back here?” Shay asks, not responding to his snarky question.

“I was checking on you. You’d been gone for a while and now I see why.” He snorts as he takes a sip of the whiskey in his highball glass. “This been going on for a while?” he asks, pointing back and forth between us.

“Not that it’s your business, but no. It’s…new. No one knows but Veronica, and if you weren’t following me around like a creep, you wouldn’t know either!” She puts her hands on her hips and I can’t tell if she’s actually annoyed or trying to be funny. I’m thinking somewhere between the two.

He chuckles and rubs a hand behind his neck. “Well, excuse me for being worried about you.”

“You don’t need to worry about her,” I interject. “You’veneverneeded to worry about her when she’s with me. You certainly don’t need to start now.”

A scoff leaves his mouth and I shoot him a look warning him to be careful of what he says next. Jeremy’s around my height and similar in build but he doesn’t have my training and I have no problem putting him in his place if he steps out of it. “Relax, tough guy. Shay and I have been friends a long time and I’m allowed to care about her well-being.”

“J, enough.” She shakes her head. “I’m good. I’m…” she looks up at me and gives me a smile that makes my heart pound against my ribcage, “really happy.” She turns away from me and holds his gaze. “But you can’t tell anyone. I’m not ready for people to know yet, and while I didn’t cheat on Paxton, if it comes out now, it’ll be hard to sell that I didn’t.” She sighs. “Whenever we go public, it’s going to be hard anyway given our history together, but I certainly don’t need it the day after Paxton and I publicly ended things.”

“Public? Wait…this is serious?” He looks at Shay like she’s grown another head.

Annoyance flares through me at another dickhead response like Paxton’s. I know I’m not worthy of someone like Shay. Women like her date other movie or television stars and not their bodyguards who live in their guesthouses, but it won’t stop me from showing her how much better I am for her. How I’ll protect her and care for her and never hurt her. How she can show me the side of herself she can’t show everyone else. How I’ve been slowly falling in love with her over the past five years and now that I have the chance I’m not going to fuck it up.

“Jeremy, this isn’t a conversation I want to have right now, okay? We’ll talk Monday when we’re back on set.” I try to ignore the pang of jealousy thinking about her and Jeremy’s love scenes. I’ve watched her show since the first season and Jeremy and Shay are no strangers to love scenes. They aren’t HBO level, but he’s touched every part of her in some way and it’s already pissing me off.

“Fine.” He looks at me like he’s sizing me up in the way a father or older brother would look at her boyfriend before walking away from us without another word.This guy can’t be serious.

“He’s not going to say anything,” Shay says once he’s out of earshot. We’re still alone in the hallway and I turn to look at her.

“I don’t care about that.”

“Whatdoyou care about?” She presses.

“You,” I tell her without another thought and she smiles before leaning her head back and presenting her lip for me to take. I oblige, giving her a peck before we make our way back into the club.

I don’t want to keep bringing up my thoughts about Jeremy. She believes he doesn’t have feelings for her, and while I’m not certain, I’m definitely getting a vibe that’s more than just him being “protective.” But I also don’t want this to be a source of tension between Shay and me. I know what her job entails and I don’t want her to think I can’t handle it.

We make our way back into the main area of the club, and I follow her through the throngs of people. In situations with crowds, I always prefer her to walk in front of me so I can protect her from all sides. I don’t have to worry about someone touching her or grabbing her from behind and I know she feels safest this way. I’ll never forget the reason I always walk behind her in these situations.

One night shortly after I first started, Shay was out at a club and I hadn’t been the one to go with her to the bathroom. I wasn’t the head of her security yet and he was far more lax than I’ve ever been.I suppose that’s why they replaced him with me.

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